It is a great joy for any parish when one of their own is raised to Holy Orders and service to the Holy Altar. On Sunday, August 21, 2022 the  ordination of Dcn Joseph MacPherson took place at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco, the resting place of the relics of St. John Maximovitch. The MacPherson family, Matushka Mary, and their children Juliana and Seraphim, all travelled to witness this glorious event.  Here is the link to the entire service (the diaconal ordination begins at 1:48:02). Here is the link to to the service starting with the diaconal ordination (at 1:48:02) To Dcn Joseph, Mka Mary, and their entire family - AXIOS!  Enjoy these photos, some of them are positively … [Read more...]

This fall, we will be holding several classes and seminars designed to help you advance in the spiritual life, train  your children, and serve the Church. If you have interest in any of these, please inform Fr. John by September 1st. Thanks! The "Spouse" Class Date and Time TBD by interest For those looking to become future husbands and wives. Life lessons, questions and answers from a successful Orthodox Christian married couple What will we talk about? Dating, Courting, Marriage, Finances, Being Happy (!), Intimacy, Sex, and what questions you have. [/one-half] [cl] … [Read more...]

During the week of the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, his grace, James, Bishop of Sonora visited Arizona and made an historic tour of the state's northern satellite missions.  Beginning at ASONA/Christ the Savior Church in Youngtown, AZ, Bishop James celebrated the hierarchical liturgy on the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul with the local clergy and laity. Celebrants were Fr. Christopher Horsley, Fr. John A. Peck, and Dcn. Joseph Peck.  Once Liturgy was done, His Grace immediately began the journey to Show Low in the White Mountains, where was welcomed with parish girls throwing flower petals before his path up to, and into, the church building.  Fr. Michael and Mka. Georgia Vallecillo with … [Read more...]

by Fr. Geoffrey Korz A well-known and esteemed American priest recently spoke on the topic of the use of appropriate terminology for describing Orthodox clergy, both priests and bishops. Since many issues from secular society present themselves in the life of the Church, it has also become common to use secular labels (all too familiar in political discourse) to describe views expressed by the clergy. This priest was pointing out, quite wisely, that while it is certainly appropriate and necessary for the Church and Her clergy to speak to many political issues which face Orthodox faithful, the political labels of “conservative” and “liberal” do not in fact have any meaning in the Orthodox … [Read more...]

Tomorrow, my children, you do not know what laws will be enacted—in a few years who knows what kind of laws will be passed? There might be laws which will make it illegal for us to go to Church. What will we do then? Will we start to take into account the laws of the state when the impinge upon our faith? Do not forget the martyrs, most importantly the ones who were soldiers, who fought on behalf of the Emperor. Whenever the Emperor’s decrees impinged upon their faith they said: “The first in order is the Heavenly King, and then the earthly.” [...] That is why I am telling you always to be ready and on guard, for we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I will only tell you this, the … [Read more...]

From September 28, 2021 - another example of the weakness of Islam. A woman from Northern Israel was strangled to death by her own son last month for converting from Islam to Orthodox Christianity. According to the indictment, the murder of 46-year-old Rasha Muklasha by her 27-year-old son Muad Hib was premeditated, with Hib arranging a meeting with her near Nazareth on August 5 with the intention of killing her and disposing of her remains, reports the Times of Israel. Muklasha left her husband and severed ties with her five children in 2006, later converting to Orthodoxy. Having learned of the death of her ex-husband, she resumed contact with her children, but they were angered by her … [Read more...]

Homesteading for the Orthodox in Arizona Join us for our Homesteading in Arizona for the Orthodox workshop at 10 am on Saturday, July 9, 2022. This is one of our Saturday Summer Seminars. Homesteading in Arizona? Isn't that crazy? Far from it. Arizona has a long history of homesteading, and today is no exception. See the videos below! We will be covering topics, and have real experts on hand to answer your questions, including: Land acquisition (learn the three necessary things your property MUST have!) Varying degrees of self-sufficiency (not everyone wants to live off-grid, and you don't have to!) Permaculture (God's way of multiplying harvests) The Kitchen … [Read more...]